


A Cut Above

by truth_renowned



Series: One-Word Prompts [5]
Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 14:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10923681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_renowned/pseuds/truth_renowned
Summary: A first for Daniel and Peggy's son.





	A Cut Above

Peggy eyed her three-year-old son, her brow furrowed. “He doesn't look good.”

“He looks fine,” Daniel replied casually.

“No, he doesn’t. You need to take him in.”

“He’s _fine_.”

Peggy shook her head, moving one-year-old Beth from her left hip to her right. “No, he isn’t. Take him.”

“Peggy, I am perfectly capable of cutting my son’s hair. It looks fine.”

She reached over and ruffled Michael’s hair, which caused the curls to stick up every which way.

“It just needs some refining,” Daniel said weakly.

“His hair is getting more unruly as he grows. It was fine that you trimmed it before, but he needs a _good_ haircut. Take him to your barber.”

“My father cut my hair for the first ten years of my life.”

Peggy lifted Beth into both arms and gave her a kiss on her temple. “I didn’t know you then, but if your hair looked anything like Michael’s, I would have demanded that you be taken to a proper barber.”

“I’ll just give it--”

“Daniel.” Her tone brooked no argument.

He took another look at his son’s hair, then sighed. “Fine.”

\-----

Daniel pulled up in front of his favorite barbershop. He’d had a great barber in Los Angeles -- Frank -- and it just so happened that Frank’s brother, Al, had a shop in New York. It was a bit of a drive but well worth it.

Al was older, probably 50s, with rich brown skin and the biggest, most friendly smile Daniel had ever seen. His own hair was closely cropped, sprinklings of white mixed in with the wiry black hairs.

Holding Michael’s hand, Daniel stepped inside the door, the tinkling of the bell causing the man inside to look up and smile.

“Good morning, Mister Sousa,” Al said, his smile widening as he saw Michael. “And who do we have here?”

“This is my son, Michael.” He nudged Michael, who now had his arms wrapped around his father’s good leg. “Say hi.”

The mumbled, “Hi,” was barely audible, but it was loud enough for Al.

“Hello to you, Mister Michael.”

“Al, I was hoping you could fit me in today.”

Al nodded but his look showed confusion. “Sure thing, Mister Sousa. You were here just last week, though.”

“Actually, it’s Michael who needs the haircut.”

Al didn’t miss a beat. “So I see. You cut his hair?”

“Yes.” Daniel suddenly felt embarrassed. 

Al hummed his disappointment as he motioned them toward the chair. Daniel picked up Michael and put him in the chair, and Al placed a small smock around him. Michael was fascinated with the large mirror in front of him. Daniel waved at him in the mirror, and Michael giggled. It wasn’t until Al took the comb and scissors in his hands that Michael’s eyes widened.

Al’s scissors didn’t get more than a few inches from Michael’s head before the boy started to scream.

“Mikey, it’s okay,” Daniel said calmly, then looked at Al. “I didn’t cut his hair in front of a mirror. It must be scaring him.”

Al nodded. “That’s okay.” He swung the chair around so that it was facing away from the mirror. He raised the scissors again, but Michael let loose with an even bigger scream, standing in the chair and reaching for Daniel. 

Daniel picked up his son. “I’m sorry, Al.”

“You’re fine, Mister Sousa. First haircut is always scary to kids. Why don’t you sit? I’ll just take off a little to show him.”

Daniel nodded, sitting in the chair with Michael in his lap. Al took a few snips off Daniel’s hair at the temple, then moved to the other side. In less than two minutes, he had given Daniel a full trim.

“See, Mikey, it doesn’t hurt Daddy at all.” 

Michael dipped his head in a nod but still looked afraid, eyeing the scissors in Al’s hand as if he was holding a monster. He clung closer to his father.

Daniel looked up at Al. “Can you cut his hair with him in my lap?”

“Won’t be the first time and certainly won’t be the last,” Al replied, immediately getting to work on Michael’s hair as Daniel kept the boy busy with reciting the alphabet.

\------

Daniel and Michael walked into the kitchen, and Peggy, at the counter peeling carrots, turned to greet them.

“There’s my handsome boy,” she said with a bright smile. She ruffled her son’s hair and the curls immediately settled back into place.

Michael gave her a toothy smile. “I got a haircut an’ it din’t hurt.”

“I am so proud of you, poppet!”

“He did great,” Daniel said, leaving out the screaming part.

“Daddy took you for ice cream, too, didn’t he?” She licked her thumb and washed the remnants of chocolate ice cream from his face, then looked at her husband. “Does Mum get any ice cream?”

Daniel hoisted the paper bag in his hand, and she nodded in approval.

“Mummy, I wanna play cars,” Michael said, tugging on Peggy’s skirt.

“What do you say?”

“Please?”

“Good boy.” Peggy watched the boy scamper out of the room, then turned to Daniel. “And there’s my other handsome boy.” 

She pulled him to her, her lips meeting his in a leisurely yet heated kiss. His hand slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

“Mmm. Pistachio,” she said as she pulled back. “Is that what’s in the bag?”

He took the pint container from the paper bag and placed it in the freezer. “Of course.”

“Good boy.”

He gave her a sly smile. “I’ll be even better later.”

“I know you will,” she said with a laugh. 

“Is Beth down for a nap?”

She nodded. “Finally. She’s even more stubborn than your son when it comes to naps.”

“Just like her mother.”

She mouthed a ‘ha ha’ before saying, “Thank you for taking Michael to the barber.”

“You’re welcome. I suppose you were right.”

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear you. Did you say I was right?”

“You heard me just fine,” he said, biting back a smile. “I just thought that since Pai cut my hair, I could do the same for my son.”

Peggy slipped her arms around his neck and lightly ran her fingers through his hair. “Daniel, you are the best father a child could ever want. You don’t have to be perfect at everything, though. I’m sure your father would be a terrible spy.”

Daniel chucked. His father couldn’t keep a secret to save his life, so she was spot-on with that.

“I know,” he replied. “I just want to do everything right.”

“You are.” She kissed him softly. “For Michael, for Beth and for me.”

Her words filled Daniel with pride. He was doing his best, and he realized that his best was pretty damn good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to movrings for the prompt: haircut


End file.
